


An Actually Spooky Trolloween

by RagingCycloneZorch



Category: Trolls (Movies 2016 2020)
Genre: Barb and Branch are little schemers, Branch has a plan, Campfire stories, Friendship, Fun, Ghosts, Halloween!, It's like a Dreamworks horror short, Other, Pop Holiday, Spooky, Spooky music, The Pop Trolls' scary stories aren't actually scary, Trolloween, roasting marshmallows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:29:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27203185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RagingCycloneZorch/pseuds/RagingCycloneZorch
Summary: It's Trolloween in Pop Village, and Poppy decides to invite the Snack Pack and some of her friends from the other tribes to have a camp out with smores and some not-so-scary stories. It's supposed to be a night of friendship and fun, but Branch and Barb have some other plans for the group. This night might end up being spooky after all.
Relationships: Branch/Queen Poppy (Trolls)
Comments: 34
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In honor of Halloween coming up this next weekend, I decided to write a story on the Trolls version of the classic holiday. I've had this idea for a few months, and I'm super excited to actually be writing it now. It'll probably have about 4 or 5 chapters at the most, so nothing too long. I hope you all enjoy!

_“For one day a year, Troll Village-”_

_“It’s Pop Village, Poppy.”_

_“Oh yeah. Sorry. One day a year in_ Pop _Village… Well, actually, one night, is supposed to be the spookiest night of the year. That night is Trolloween.”_

 _“Now, you might be wondering why_ anything _in Pop Village is spooky. I-”_

 _“Branch, can I_ pretty please _tell the scrapbook?”_

_“Fine.”_

_“Yay! Anyways, I know you all are thinking, ‘wow, just_ how _is anything with the Pop Trolls spooky and not all cupcakes and rainbows like?’”_

_“Why did you do that with a voice?”_

_“Because it’s fun, Branch, so_ Blah _.”_

_“Wait, did you just stick your tongue out at me?”_

_“Dude, she totally did!”_

_“Quiet, Barb. I’m trying to tell the story.”_

_“Why can’t Blue Boy and I help? We had just as much of a part as you did. Maybe even more!”_

_“Because I’m the Queen.”_

_“I’m a Queen too! The_ Queen of Rock _!”_

 _“Ok, girls. I think we get it. You’re both Queens. Can we just get on with this? I have a_ life _to live, you know.”_

_“Party Pooper.”_

“Barb!”

_“What? He is.”_

_“He’s not, anymore.”_

_“Ok, could you not? That’s too puke.”_

_“I have to agree with Barb.”_

_“Seriously, Biggie?”_

_“I’m sorry, Poppy. We were all excited when the two of you confessed your feelings, but I have to admit that the constant…how do I put this…Lovey-doviness is getting a_ bit _old. Mr. Dinkles doesn’t understand why you don’t just tie the knot already.”_

_“Don’t make me sing the song.”_

_“CAN EVERYONE JUST BE QUIET SO POPPY CAN TELL THE STORY ALREADY?! Everyone loves that song, Delta, but this is supposed to be a story about_ Trolloween _! It’s starting to spiral, and you all know I hate it when things spiral!”_

_…_

_…_

_…_

_“Yeah, ok, Popsqueak. Tell the story.”_

_“Ok! It was a week before Trolloween, and all through the land, everyone was excited for the upcoming festivities. Ok, it was mostly the Pop Trolls. But that doesn’t mean the other tribes didn’t want to participate too. That might not have been the best idea in the end though…_

* * *

_Happy Trolloween!_

Poppy stepped back to admire the work. The banner was right to the point, but… 

“It’s _still_ missing something.”

Branch groaned and stepped off the ladder. “Poppy, I worked on this all night. What could _possibly_ be missing?”

She didn’t answer right away, too busy admiring the cute way her boyfriend scrunched up his big nose when he was frustrated. She didn’t know _why_ she had never noticed it before. Looking back at the banner, the Queen realized what the problem was.

“Branch, there’s no glitter.” She was honestly just a little bit disappointed and shocked. They had hung out enough times for him to know to put glitter on this kind of stuff.

The teal Troll groaned again, and Poppy gave him a lame look. It was obvious to both of them she was surprised.

“Ok, I know what you’re thinking, Poppy, and I have a good excuse.”

She bit back a small smile and playfully tapped her foot. “I’m listening.”

He nodded and took a multicolored glitter ball out of his hair. Why did he have that? It seemed more like something _Poppy_ would store in her hair. “I’m fairly certain that of the other tribes, the only person that’s actually _ok_ with getting a face full of glitter is Trollex, and -Ok, don’t give me that look, because it’s _true_ \- possibly the Funky Family, because they’re really… What’s the word D always uses?”

Poppy looked through her memory, thinking of the odd Funk language the Prince always used. Sick? No. Winners? Probably not. What was it… 

“Chill!” she finally remembered. And she silently agreed with her boyfriend about Cooper’s family. They were all surprisingly calm and polite when something went wrong. A _big_ contrast to Cooper, but that was more of a side effect of being raised by Pop Trolls.

“Yeah, they’re really chill, and now that I think about it, are you sure the others will like celebrating Trolloween with us?”

She gasped. “Of course they will, Branch! Why don’t you think it’ll work?” She was confident it would all go off without a hitch, but she would still listen to his concerns. Poppy did want to be a better Queen, and listening was one of the steps. Sure, she had been getting better the past few months, but her dad always said there was lots of room for improvement.

Branch shrugged, offering her a small smile. “I don’t know. Survivalist instinct, I guess. Just seeing the worst in every situation.”

“Well, yeah, but what specifically?” _Survival instinct_ was a bit broad, since he really used that excuse for everything.

“They might not find it spooky enough,” he deadpanned. “I know everyone _thinks_ their stories about a Troll in the middle of the woods with no one to hug are scary, but they’re really not.”

Now _there_ was opportunity. The others would surely find those _plenty_ entertaining. First though, Poppy needed to convince Branch that the holiday would go alright. She quickly ran to the center of the village, Branch hot on her heels.

“HEY EVERYONE! Branch needs a motivational song for Trolloween next week!”

His eyes went wide. “WHAT?! No I don’t!

Poppy ignored him, watching as the village started to prepare for a song. 

“Poppy, I don’t see why this is _necessary_ -”

“I was working in the lab, late one night,” Poppy yelled out, “When my eyes beheld an ee-rie sight!”

Branch gave her a lame look. “Seriously?”

“For my monster from his lab began to rise, and suddenly, to my surprise…”

Branch screamed as trolls dropped down around him and sang. “ _He did the Mash!_ ”

“He did the Monster Mash!” Poppy screamed in his face.

_“The Monster Mash!”_

“It was a graveyard smash!”

_“He did the Mash!”_

“It caught on in a flash!”

_“He did the Mash!”_

“He did the Monster Mash.”

Poppy had now moved to the big mushroom in the middle of the village, and continued leading the song while the nearby forest creatures and the other Pop Trolls, minus Branch, sang in the background.

“From my laboratory at first glance, to the land out there where the vampires dance, the ghouls all game from their humble abodes, to get a jolt from my electrodes.”

_“They did the Mash!”_

“They did the Monster Mash!”

_“The Monster Mash!”_

“It was a graveyard smash!”

_“They did the Mash!”_

“It caught on in a flash!”

_“They did the Mash!”_

“They did the Monster Mash.”

“The zombies were having fun, the party had just begun. The guests included Wolfman, Dracula, and his son. The scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds. Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds, the coffin-bangers were about to arrive, with their vocal group, 'The Crypt-Kicker Five!’”

_“They played the Mash!”_

“They played the Monster Mash!”

_“The Monster Mash!”_

“It was a graveyard smash!”

_“They played the Mash!”_

“It caught on in a flash!”

_“They played the Mash!”_

“They played the Monster Mash!”

Poppy pointed to Branch, who was now smiling, just on the verge of dancing. He decided to join in, and yelled out with his own line. “Now the Monster Mash is the hit of the land!”

The Queen smiled in victory as the teal Troll joined her on the main part, the others still echoing and singing. _“Then you can Mash!”_

“You can Monster Mash!”

_“The Monster Mash!”_

“And do my graveyard smash!”

_“Then you can Mash!”_

“You’ll catch on in a flash!”

All the Pop Trolls danced and finished with a big display, Poppy and Branch still on the mushroom.

_“Then you can Mash, then you can Monster Mash!”_

Poppy looked around at all the happy Trolls, and noted even Branch was smiling now. Nobody, not even him, could resist a village wide song. “That was a great job, everyone!”

Some Trolls smiled back at her, others just went about their daily lives. But there was one Troll in particular she spotted near the back of the crowd, just arriving, and obviously confused about the number just performed. Poppy jumped down and ran over.

“Baaarrrbbb!”

The Rock Queen turned from her critter bus and was instantly crushed with a hug. She awkwardly patted Poppy on the back, while shooting a glare to Branch, who was laughing his head off at the scene.

“Yeah, glad to see you too, Poppy.”

“So, I have some _super_ exciting news!” Poppy exclaimed after she pulled back. “Next week, we’re going to be celebrating a Pop Troll holiday called Trolloween, and you’re invited to my party!” She quickly pulled a card out of her hair. Barb, who knew what was coming, moved her head to the side as soon as the Pop Queen opened it, just narrowly missing a face full of glitter.

Barb took the elaborate scrapbook invite and scratched her head. “Don’t you invite me to pretty much _all_ of your Pop Troll parties?”

That was true. Maybe Poppy went a little overboard on those invitations, but it was always worth it. “But this one’s different. It’ll just be me and my closest friends, gathered around a campfire at night, eating smores and candy and telling scary stories! You even get to dress up!” She pointed at the card, which had a little paper sticking out. “Pull the tab!”

Barb did so, and a little Poppy figure popped up, yelling _‘Costume Get Together!’_ “Yeah, I’ll think about it, alright?”

“Great!” Poppy conquered her in another hug, then eventually bounded off to do her daily Queen duties. 

Once she was out of earshot, Branch turned to the other Queen. “I have something to talk to you about.”

It was going to be an interesting plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there's the beginning. The song in this chapter is 'Monster Mash' by Bobby Pickett.  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch explains the plan to Barb.

“Alright, man, what the deal?” 

Branch motioned for her to follow him, not waiting for an answer as he made his way into the forest and to the Bunker. He  _ could  _ have told Barb about his plan in the village, but Pop Trolls were notorious gossipers, and he had no doubt it would have gotten back to Poppy within the day if someone had heard.  _ That  _ was something he couldn’t afford. 

Before Barb could register  _ exactly  _ where in the forest they were, because no, he really didn’t need her knowing the  _ exact  _ location of the Bunker, he quickly opened up the hatch and pointed to it. “In.”

The Rock Queen eyed it suspiciously. “Dude, not that I don’t appreciate a random dark hole in the ground in the middle of the forest, but  _ what  _ is this about?”

“I told you. I have to talk to you about a plan I have.”

Her eyes went wide and she backed up. “Poppy told me about your plans. I don’t want any part of it. I’d rather  _ not  _ die or get humiliated or something.”

Was he really that bad? Definitely not. “Alright, Poppy’s plans are probably worse. On one adventure, the village got destroyed, we almost got killed by spiders, everyone lost their colors and regained them again, Poppy’s boyfriend got burned, and we almost got eaten alive, all within the span of two days. My plans are nothing. You must be going soft or something,” he added as a joke.

Barb just gaped at him. 

“Besides, I think you’ll like this one. Come on in.” Branch saw she was still hesitating, so he used his last tactic.  _ This  _ would definitely get to her. “You know, unless you’re  _ scared _ .”

_ “Scared? Me?” _

He smirked at Barb. “Yep.” It was definitely working.

“Ok, just-” The Queen pushed past him and jumped into the Bunker entrance. Branch smirked again in victory before going in after her and closing the mat behind him.

…

“I literally can’t see a thing, man.”

Hmm. That was odd. Branch looked around for all the glowbugs that were supposed to be lighting up the top section of the Bunker, noticing that none of them were actually  _ glowing _ . He quickly clapped his hands to get the attention of the lead one, thinking it was some kind of Trolloween prank or something. “Alright, Sprite. Very funny, but I can’t see the lever. Mind helping a Troll out?”

The glowbugs, disappointed that their friend had figured out the joke, slowly lit up the space. “That’s better. Thanks, guys.” Sprite, a bright blue glowbug, flew over to Branch, giving the Troll a quick salute with one of his legs.

Branch rolled his eyes and brought a hand up to pet the small creature. “Yeah, yeah, I love you too, buddy.”

Barb just laughed at the sight and hit the other lightly on the shoulder. “ _ Now  _ who’s soft, huh?”

The teal Troll glared at her as he maneuvered his hand from the glowbug to the lever, giving it a quick yank, which caused the platform to start moving down. Barb jumped, which he remembered was the same thing Poppy did the first time she had been down in the Bunker. 

Since Branch had lived there for at least nine or ten years, he knew every in and out, every crack and crevice, every secret entrance, every single detail of the intricate, some Pop Trolls might even say infamous, Bunker. But seeing Barb completely speechless as they rode the lift down to the main room, it was honestly pretty entertaining.

“What. In the entire Troll world. Is this?” The Rock Queen asked once the lift had stopped. 

“Oh, just my house,” Branch replied nonchalantly, holding back a smirk. “Go sit down while I grab my blackboard.” He gestured to the couch, then walked to one of the back rooms before she could reply.

Barb, surprised, scanned around before making her way to the center of the room, where a piece of furniture sat she thought was the couch. It actually looked pretty sick, but she would never tell anyone that. Looking closer, she noticed that it was actually accented with various brown and green tones.  _ Gross.  _ But there  _ were  _ some cool looking jars over near the wall… 

“Alright, I got the board, and  _ why  _ are you snooping around my rations?” 

_ “Rations?”  _ she laughed. “Dude, those are moldy poison bulbs. Not rations.”

Branch thought about that for a second before leaving his blackboard in the middle of the room and also heading over to inspect the rations. Now that he was actually looking at them, some of them might work for his plan. There were clearly a few… Ok, a  _ lot, _ that  _ were _ pretty gross, and the Snack Pack would definitely agree. “These’ll work perfectly.”

“Um… For what, man?”

“The plan.” Barb got settled on the couch while she fervently complained about the bunker -”you need more red and black in here, dude”- as Branch prepared his little -well, it wasn’t little because in all honesty, he had been working on it for a month- presentation. 

“So, as you know,” Branch started, clasping his hands together and walking to the side, “This Saturday is Trolloween. Poppy really didn’t explain it all that well.” She tried, but when Poppy got excited about something, she tended to skim important details.

“I figured as much,” Barb confirmed. “She has way too much energy. Like, chill, girl. Am I right?”

Branch pursed his lips in slight frustration. He didn’t really like it all that much when someone said something bad about his girlfriend, even if it was true. But this was Barb. He knew she was joking, so he let it slide for now. Then again, it was _Barb._ Now that he thought about it, he would probably be either going crazy or deaf by the time this was over. Better take care of that sooner than later.

“Guitar first. Then we can talk.” The teal Troll held both his hands out to take the loud instrument, hoping she would give it to him if he wanted any chance of keeping his eardrums. With a glare and an eye roll, she surprisingly gave it to him, and he set it against a nearby wall.

“Now, Trolloween. It’s supposed to be the so-called  _ spookiest night of the year, _ but that never actually happens. All the Pop Trolls dress up in a costume, and the Trollings go trick-or-treating. That basically means that they go up to pods and ask Trolls for candy, and if they don’t get any, the owner of the pod gets pranked. Everyone has lots of fun, eats lots of candy, decorates the village for Fall, and tries to scare each other. It’s really boring.”

Barb shrugged. “We have something similar in Volcano Rock City. But we call it Hallows’ Eve. And if you don’t like someone, then you get to throw eggs at their house! I was actually planning on finding out where you lived and doing it to you, but the next one’s not for another two weeks. Everyone even tells horrifying stories until their eyeballs pop out. Kind of thought you would like something like that.”

He nodded stiffly. “I would  _ love  _ that, trust me. That's why I need you.”

She looked at him in wordless acknowledgement. 

“I’ve never participated in Trolloween before, but I’ve  _ watched.  _ To Poppy and her friends, a scary story is the idea of a Troll in the middle of forest with no party supplies and no one to hug.” 

“Wow, you must be miserable.”

Branch gave the Rock Queen a look. “I am, thank you for reminding me,” he replied sarcastically. At that moment, he was glad it wasn’t any other Troll. Barb was one of the select few that actually  _ understood  _ sarcasm, and wouldn’t give him a hug even if she didn’t get it.

“Alright, enough with the weird survivalist sarcasm, man.” Barb rolled her eyes, gesturing toward the lift. “If you don’t just tell me whatever plan you have, I’m gonna leave to go prank Riff or something.”

“Right, right.” Branch grew out his hair a bit and pointed to the board behind him. “Trolloween. The one scary night that’s not  _ actually  _ scary. But we’re gonna change all that,” he started explaining in a spooky voice.

“Honestly, you’re as bad as Poppy sometimes.”

“I can’t help it. It’s in my blood to be whimsical at random times, no matter how much I don’t want to.”

“Not the weirdest thing I’ve heard all day, but continue, by all means.”

Kind of curious as to what the weirdest thing was if it wasn’t that, but wanting to just get Barb out of his Bunker before something got broken, Branch continued. “I want your help to scare Poppy and everyone that’ll be at the campfire on Saturday. It’ll take a bit more planning, but I think we can pull it off. Well, assuming you’ll say yes,” he added quickly.

Barb leaned forward on the couch. “Interesting. We can scare  _ all  _ of them?”

“Yep.”

She thought for a moment. “Even the Marshmallow?”

“If you mean Biggie, he’s tougher than he looks.” Other than him, Biggie was one of the only Pop Trolls in the village not afraid of, actually, a surprising amount of stuff. Branch never would have known it before becoming friends with the large Troll.

“And Fish Boy?”

“Trollex can take it, too.” Branch had become good friends with the Techno king, and he knew for a fact that the ruler had seen eels, sharks, and who knows what else down in the sea. So yeah, he would be fine.

Barb smirked mischievously. “Even Poppy?”

Alright, it was pretty dark bringing up Poppy. But when he thought about it, Poppy wasn’t afraid of  _ anything. _ He had seen her run blindly into danger without a second thought, and he knew she wasn’t  _ that  _ stupid. Sure, she might be surprised. But scared? That just added to the challenge.

“Definitely.”

Barb laughed really quickly before grabbing her guitar and playing a spooky riff. “I’m in, man. What do we need to do?”

Branch smirked and turned back to his mostly laid out plan. “We’re gonna need props, wits, and  _ a lot  _ of creepy music. Help a Troll out?”

The Queen gave him a fist bump. “Oh, yeah. This is gonna be fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always love the interactions between Branch and Barb. I think they give off that really strong sibling rivalry vibe. If anyone has any suggestions of good, Clean Halloween songs, let me know in the comments. There are a few that I have in mind, but I could always use more. Next chapter should come out in a few days.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, ok. This one actually took me a bit to write. And I discovered once again that I hate writing song lyrics (which is kind of a problem since I mostly write for Trolls). I wanted to get this out yesterday, but that didn't really happen, so here it is in time for Halloween night! This is my favorite one so far!

_Trolloween Morning_

A spotlight shined on a figure coming out of the royal pod, wearing a pitch black robe. Every Pop Troll turned to look, as the figure slowly walked to the big mushroom. Music began to play, and the figure reached for their robe, before throwing it off.

Revealing Poppy, dressed in a fairy princess costume. She quickly threw her hands in the air, excited for the holiday. “Who’s ready to party?!”

All the Pop Trolls cheered, dressed in costumes of their own, and she went into a village-wide song. _“I’m all dressed up, got somewhere to go! Got a bag of candy slung over my shoulder!”_

 _“I’m all dressed up, got somewhere to go!”_ Branch echoed her, wearing his custom black vest decorated with orange pumpkins. _“Got a bag of candy slung over my shoulder!”_

 _“I gave you all an invitation to arrive!”_ Poppy sang. _“Going to a party where everyone’s feeling alive!”_

_“Got a fancy invitation to arrive! Going to a party where everyone’s feeling alive!”_

At that moment, the music suddenly changed, and Poppy jumped in the air. _“Boys and girls, oh everyone, wouldn’t you like to see something fun?!”_

“Yeah!” the crowd yelled.

Branch and Poppy smirked at each other. _“This is Trolloween! This is Trolloween! We all laugh in the dead of night!”_

 _“This is Trolloween! Everybody make a scene!”_ the village echoed.

 _“Trick or Treat till the neighbors don’t have any left!”_ Tiny Diamond sang. He hopped out of his father’s hair and ran to DJ’s wooferbug, switching the records. An upbeat tune started to play. “Hey, everybody! Listen up!”

 _“I want candy! I want candy!”_ All the Trollings cheered at Tiny’s song choice. _“All I want is your candy! All I want is your chewy!”_

“Chewy!” the Trollings echoed.

Poppy and Branch shrugged.

“Fun to eat!”

“So darn sweet!”

 _“Candy!”_ The Trollings from multiple tribes finished together. 

Poppy smiled as everyone, minus her friends and the other leaders, dispersed after the medley. As she came up to her friends, she noticed a particular absence, as well as Branch slipping away from the group. She quickly turned to Riff, to see if she could get an explanation as to why one of her best friends was gone. “Where’s Barb? Is she going to be here for the campfire?”

The drummer fiddled with his fingers for a second. Poppy thought that if Branch were there, he would probably think Riff was hiding something. “Well, Barb said she had some really important Queen duties… Or something, today. She wanted me to tell you she wouldn’t be able to make it to the party tonight.” At the sight of Poppy’s smile falling, he added, “But she said she might be able to get together next week for lunch or something!”

The Pop Queen quickly lit up at the sound of seeing Barb sometime in the next week. Since the other leaders kind of had their own kingdoms to run, it was on rare occasions she could see a lot of her friends from the other tribes on social terms, rather than at a leader meeting.

“That’s great! Whenever she wants to works for me!” After seeing Riff nod, she looked around for some of her other friends, specifically Guy Diamond. Spotting him leaning against the big mushroom with DJ, she lit up, and wondered if he still needed help with a favor he had mentioned earlier. He started walking over when he saw her.

“Hey, Poppy!”

The Queen embraced her friend, looking forward to spending some time with him, along with her other friends. “Does Tiny still need help with his costume dilemma?”

Guy frowned. “Yeah. Do you remember the… issue he had when school started up again a few months ago?”

Poppy grimaced. She had been visiting Barb then, but she had heard about how Tiny was trying different costumes to fit in and ended up setting Biggie’s hair on fire. Luckily, Pop Troll hair was pretty magical, so it grew back within the day. _That_ was one for the scrapbooks. “Let me guess: He can’t figure out what costume to wear for Trick-or-Treating tonight?”

“Right!” The Trolling in question popped out of his father’s hair, jumping into his hands. “I invited Coral and Andre to go with me, but I have so many outfits in mind, I can’t decide! Can ya help me, Aunt Poppy?”

She leaned down to be eye level with him. “Of course, Tiny! I wouldn’t be a very good Troll if I _didn’t_ try to help my favorite nephew, now would I?”

“What r’ya waiting for, then?” Tiny hopped out of Guy’s hands and started running towards Satin and Chenille’s pod. “The faster we get me a costume, the faster I get candy!”

Poppy figured the Hip-Hop Troll _really_ wanted some candy, because he didn’t seem to notice when he crashed into a Troll on the path.

“That’s the fourth Troll he’s crashed into this weeeek.”

* * *

“So, what did you have in mind, Tiny?”

The Trolling ran around the pod, looking at outfits. He would take one off the rack, and then throw it back with a “No” every time he didn’t think it was good enough.

“I can’t find anything, Daddy!”

Guy mumbled something from underneath the pile of discarded clothes.

Tiny went over and dug through until he could see the four other Trolls. “You say something, Daddy?”

“Yes, son.” They all climbed out of the pile, the Twins staying behind to clean up the mess, and Guy following Tiny out of the pod. After giving a quick goodbye and a hug to Satin and Chenille, Poppy also left.

Guy quickly picked up Tiny once they were all outside. “Son, do you remember what you learned on the first day of school?”

Tiny though for a second. “You mean about those times tables? Daddy, I already _know_ ‘bout those.”

“What about _before_ school?”

“It’s best to keep both hands on the steering wheel during a rap montage!”

Both Guy and Poppy facepalmed. “But what was the rap montage _about?”_

He thought again. For a _long_ time. “Ohhhhhh…” Tiny gave a wide smile as he looked at the two friends. “I don’t need to worry about finding the perfect Trolloween costume, because my friends will love me the way I am!”

They all embraced in a group hug. “That’s right, son.”

After a little while of hugging, Tiny wiggled out. “But that doesn’t mean a cooler costume won’t get me lots of’ candy! See you, Daddy! You too, Aunt Poppy!” the Trolling yelled as he ran toward the village again. Guy sighed just as Hug Time came.

“Alright, I would absolutely _love_ to stay and talk for awhile,” Poppy started after they pulled away. “But I just have a ton of stuff to do for the campfire tonight, so I’ll see you later, Guy!” The glittery Troll waved as Poppy ran off, her Fairy Princess wings seemingly fluttering in the wind.

* * *

The leaders and the Snack Pack all walked together as the group approached the campsite. It was already pitch black outside, so it was a lucky thing the Pop Trolls’ hair could glow in the dark. 

“So…” Branch started, sliding up beside the Snack pack. “What’s Trolloween night normally like?”

“You don’t know?” Prince D questioned. 

Branch looked back at the invited Trolls from the other tribes, minus Barb. Of course she was going to be there, just… not in the way everyone thought. After all, he couldn’t pull off the plan alone, and it helped to have someone on the outside to handle some of the stuff he couldn’t do in front of the others. “Not really,” he answered the Funk Prince. “I don’t know if you remember me telling you about this, but I _did_ isolate myself from society for a couple years, so there are a lot of Pop Troll holidays I still don’t know how to celebrate.”

Barb, who was watching from an above tree branch, heard it all and was surprised. If he didn’t know the Trolloween limits of the Pop Trolls, how was he sure nobody would end up screaming or crying? Not that she cared, of course, but she would rather Trolls _not_ be mad at her if it did happen, since she would have had a big part in the plan.

“Hey, everyone! Glad you could all make it!” Poppy appeared once they reached a large clearing with multiple logs around a crackling fire, still wearing her fairy princess costume, which was now covered in glow-in-the-dark glitter. “Love all your costumes!”

“Thanks/Thank you/Love yours too!” everyone chorused out of sync. After some more greetings, they all got comfortable around the fire with some marshmallows and candy. The Funky Family sat together on a log, as did Guy, DJ, and the Twins, Biggie, Legsly, and Smidge, and Trollex, Riff, Delta, and Trollzart. Poppy sat on the fifth log at the head of the fire, Branch and Hickory on either side of her. As the night progressed, life stories eventually turned into Trolloween ones.

“And so, as the Troll walked into the village, it was the middle of the night…” After hearing some cool stories from Cooper’s family, it was now DJ’s turn to tell a story. “After the terrifying ordeal she had just endured, she really needed a hug. But as she looked around, one thing was clear…” 

Everyone leaned forward in anticipation, except for Branch, who knew what was coming. 

“There was no one for her to hug!” DJ finished dramatically. All the Pop Trolls, including Cooper, screamed in terror for the fictional Troll. The others were really confused, and Branch just scoffed.

Barb just laughed out loud for a second before catching herself. She didn’t want to give away her position, now in the nearby bushes, so she fought the remaining laughter back with some difficulty.

Poppy gasped as she heard an odd sound in the bushes, scooting a bit closer to Branch. “What was that?”

Branch looked to the bush, realizing Barb was there and ready to carry out the plan. “I didn’t hear anything. Hey, how about I go grab some more marshmallows?”

They looked around, now realizing that they were, indeed, running low on the fluffy treat to roast. “Yeah! How about you do that.”

He got up, only to see Poppy casting him a smile. “Hurry back!”

“I will.” Branch quickly left the group, and, once out of view, doubled back to meet Barb.

“Dude, you weren’t _kidding_ when you said those Pop Troll stories were lame!” 

Branch grimaced a bit at her condescending tone, almost backing out of his own plan. Still, it _was_ true, and he _did_ want to have a little fun of his own. He never got to do a lot of his plans around the Pop Trolls, since Poppy deemed them too ‘Dangerous.’ But this- Harmless fun. All of it. He was _sure._

“Nope, not joking at all. Got the music?”

The Rock Queen pulled a boombox out of the bushes. How she got ahold of that, he would never know, since the Rock Trolls didn’t tend to have stuff like that. It was unimportant, though.

“You bet. Let’s do this.”

* * *

Back with the others, it was Trollex’s turn to tell a spooky story. He was originally planning on telling about one of his own experiences, but after seeing the Pop Trolls’ reactions to the Troll with no one to hug, he decided to tone it down a bit.

“The Troll slowly approached the shark’s cave, hoping, praying, that his father would be in there, alive.”

Biggie, at this point, was clinging to Guy on the next log over. “D-did he find h-him?”

The Techno King put on a slightly menacing smile. “Oh, yes. He was in there…”

Everyone let out a breath of relief. 

“But not in one piece…”

“Oh, goodness,” Poppy said, eyes wide, hand tightly holding Hickory’s. The yodeler looked down and lifted their hands.

“Poppy, not that I don’t understand ya needing this,” he gestured to his hand, sandwiched between two pink ones. “But Branch ain’t gonna appreciate it when he comes back.”

The Pop Queen weakly chuckled before releasing her scared grip. She loved Branch with all her heart, but he honestly had a few jealousy problems. “Right. Sorry!”

All of a sudden, music began to play. It wasn’t like her usual campfire party music, but instead was just a repeating set of creepy notes. What was going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, ok. This is the longest chapter I've written for almost anything, at 2086 words. Which is surprising, considering the amount of time I put off writing it today in favor of doing homework and listening to NSYNC on repeat.
> 
> The part in there about how Poppy never gets to see the other leaders since they have their own kingdoms to run is a nod to the upcoming series, Trollstopia! Which now has a new poster AND a release date! Anyone else super excited?  
> I also referenced the short 'Tiny Diamond Goes Back to School,' but I'm pretty sure you wouldn't get the references unless you've actually seen the short. Basically, it's the part where Poppy and Guy recall when Tiny ended up setting Biggie's hair on fire while trying to fit in. Also the rap montage thing. It's actually really funny, so go watch it if you haven't!
> 
> The opening medley consisted of three songs:  
> 'Dead Man's Party' by Oingo Boingo  
> 'This is Halloween' from Disney's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (Which I've never actually seen)  
> 'I Want Candy' by Bow Wow Wow (But I used the Hop version, which is actually sung by Russell Brand, who voices Creek!)  
> Of course, I did change a few of the words for the first two. Gotta keep it Troll friendly!
> 
> And finally, the spooky music that plays at the very end is the theme from the movie "Halloween" (which I've also never seen).
> 
> Also, does anyone think I should change the rating on this? I kind of want to leave it, but at the same time, I want to up it to Teen because of some of the spooky descriptions, both in this chapter and the next.
> 
> I'm aiming for the next chapter to come out probably tomorrow (Hopefully). In the meantime, enjoy this (and the cliffhanger) for the VERY end of the holiday (Since I'm posting this at like, 10 at night BEFORE the time change).
> 
> Happy Halloween!


	4. The Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we have the plan! There are a few (Ok, a lot of them, actually) spooky descriptions in this chapter, so be aware!
> 
> Also, my way of writing this is really weird?  
> Everyone else: Writes this while listening to a bunch of spooky music to get them in the mood  
> Me: Listens to a bunch of super upbeat Owl City songs that have nothing to do with anything
> 
> Anyways... Enjoy the chapter! It's pretty short, but it's an important part of the story.

“What’s going on?”

Everyone looked around, wondering where the music was coming from. But they were more scared then confused… 

Many of the Trolls huddled together as those same spooky notes continued to play. It went on…

And on…

And on…

And on...

Poppy chuckled, just a little spooked. “Branch? Is that you?”

At that moment, Branch came back to the circle with an extra bag of marshmallows in his arms, pretending to be oblivious to the music. “I got the marshmallows!”

Most of them jumped when they heard his announcement. Poppy went over and hugged his arm tightly, just a little more scared now. “Do you hear that?” she whispered.

Branch twitched his ears around, then nodded. “Oh, yeah. Cool music.”

It stopped as soon as he said that. Then… Silence. Nobody said anything, those not scared comforting those who were. Even the nocturnal forest creatures made no noise.

Just dead, threatening,  _ silence. _

Then, a voice spoke. A very deep, and chilling, voice. It rose up out of the silence, seemingly echoing in the isolated part of the forest.

_ “Darkness falls across the land…” _

Like an automatic response, the fire blew out, leaving the Trolls in darkness.

_ “The midnight hour is close at hand…” _

The Pop Trolls’ hug time bracelets all went off at that moment, signaling the same time. They all shuffled around, looking for someone to hug. But it wasn’t easy, as no one could see  _ anything. _

_ “Creatures crawl in search of you…” _

A scream. One long, bloodcurdling, scream, coming from someone at the campfire. 

_ “And leave behind a ghostly hue…” _

As suddenly as it had gone out, the fire mysteriously started again, lighting up the circle. Branch, Smidge, and Riff were all gone, small orange and black fireflies taking their places.

Then it happened. Someone screamed.

Nobody knew who. It was the same type of blood curdling scream that, when heard, sent chills up your spine, and made you wonder if it was ever going to be safe to see who it was. But one thing was for sure.

I didn’t come from any of the group that was still around the campfire.

The voice was back.  _ “Now grizzly ghouls from every tomb are closing in to seal your doom…” _

It was followed by more music that, while not as spooky as the previous music, still had an air of a condescending tone that had everyone in fright. 

_ “You’re all just average Trolls, with average lives. Partying from 9 to 5, yes, you pay the price…” _

_ “Now, I always feel like, somebody’s watching me! I always feel like somebody's watching me!” _

“This has to be just a bad dream,” Poppy said, clinging onto her friends for dear life. The others did the same.

The music stopped abruptly. It was as if everything was back to normal. Until…

…

A figure slowly started to emerge from the bushes in front of the Trolls. As it got closer to the light, they could see…

It was a ghost. Not like one of the friendly ghosts in the Pop Trolls’ stories, oh no. This one was worse.

Much, much worse. The size of a Teaspoon Pop Troll, it caused many of the group to scream as they took in the glowing, mutilated being. It got closer, and closer, before opening its mouth and singing.

_ “I always feel like somebody’s watching me! I always feel like somebody’s watching me!” _

More ghosts, all exactly like the first, floated down and surrounded them. They were low enough for the Trolls to see and hear them, but not enough for somebody to reach up and find out the trick. They all began singing with the first one, until the creepy song was heard from all directions.

_ “I always feel like somebody's watching me! I always feel like somebody’s watching me!” _

The same phrase repeated over and over again, until eventually fading out, along with all the ghosts but the original. It loomed closer…

And closer…

Close enough to scream sing in their faces.

_ “Let me hear you scream!”  _ It cackled and disappeared, but that was enough.

Screams filled the air, this time from all the Trolls at the campfire. They were all they heard for a while, before the fire went out again, and silence once again overcame.

Then, laughter.

Not creepy laughter, by any means, but normal laughter that seemed to be coming from two Trolls - a male and a female. That was the last thing the group huddled in fear heard before the fire lit up once again, and the masterminds were revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this actually ended up way better than I thought, considering that the scariest content I've ever watched is the Monsters VS Aliens Zombie Carrot short and "Shrek's Swamp Stories." 
> 
> Songs in this chapter:  
> 'Thriller' by Michael Jackson (Just the part with Vincent Price)  
> 'Somebody's Watching Me' by Rockwell (Suggested by Undertaleuniverse)  
> 'Let Me Hear You Scream' by Ozzy Osbourne
> 
> We'll be wrapping it all up later this week! Let me know your thoughts for this chapter! Was it spooky enough?
> 
> Oh, and I almost forgot! Happy Birthday to Anthony Ramos, the VA for King Trollex! (11/1/20)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the final chapter! I'm really proud of this one.
> 
> If you somehow missed the last chapter, please go back and read it BEFORE reading this one. There's some important stuff in there. 
> 
> Enjoy! BTW, we get a lot more sibling vibes in this one.

As the fire lit up, the group witnessed Branch and Barb in front of them, laughing. They even gave each other a high five as they seemed to delight in what the other Trolls now knew was a prank. Their revelry died down, however, when they took in the state of their friends.

“Well, sugar.”

“Frosting.”

The group gasped weakly at Barb and Branch’s profanity. This had apparently been a joke, but it was obvious it didn’t go the way the two Trolls expected. After a bit of silence, Barb turned and shoved Branch.

“See, this is why I didn’t want to do this!”

“What do you mean you didn’t want to do this?” Branch shoved her back, appalled that she would back out now. “You were excited about the plan until about 30 seconds ago! Troll, you came up with the ghost thing!”

Another shove. “Well, you wrote the song!”

“You brought your dad’s song!”

“You came up with the creepy commentary!”

“You recorded the screams!”

The two got in each other’s faces and growled, neither wanting to take the blame for the prank gone wrong.

_ “Um, guys?” _

At the sound of Poppy’s shaky voice, Branch quickly stopped glaring at Barb in favor of going to his girlfriend. He kneeled in front of her, checking to make sure she wasn’t too mad, then leapt up and wrapped her in a tight hug, never wanting to let go. Poppy reciprocated.

“Poppy, I’m so sorry. It was just supposed to be a joke, and I never thought that it would-”

He was cut off by the Pop Queen putting a finger to his lips. As she brought it down, he was quiet to let her speak. He would understand if she was mad, if she never wanted to speak to him again. What he and Barb did, unintentionally of course, was nothing short of-

“Branch.”

He quickly snapped his eyes to make contact with hers. “I’ll do absolutely anything you want, Poppy, because I just love you so much, and I’m so sorry-”

“It was Branch’s plan from the beginning.”

A low growl emitted from his throat again as he glared at Barb, who was looking bored over to the side. Yes, it was his plan, but she had just as much of a part in it! “You wanted to do it just as much as me,” he said in a low voice. “And you know it.”

She shrugged, and Branch went back to comforting Poppy, who was still a bit scared despite forgiving him. Everyone sat in silence for a while as they calmed down from the effects of what had just transpired. Then…

Laughter. As the Trolls looked around, it dawned on them that it was coming from Cooper. His brother joined in with him shortly as well.

“What are you laughing about?” Poppy asked, confused.

Cooper wheezed as he tried to answer, still consumed by the giggles. “You gotta admit, Poppy! That was a good joke!” 

“Yeah! It was sick!”

The two of them looked at each other and started laughing again. Slowly, Trollex joined in, having found the prank a bit entertaining as well. He was joined by Guy, then Delta and Biggie, and within a few minutes, everyone was laughing, even Branch and Barb. Now that they weren’t completly spooked, the Trolls found delight in the efforts of the two Trolls, who they all agreed had succeeded in making the holiday a little bit scarier.

After a while, everyone got a bit tired of laughing, and the revelry died down. Poppy sighed, leaning on Branch’s shoulder while roasting a marshmallow. “See? Nobody’s mad about the prank.”

Branch chuckled and looked around at all their friends, who were now laughing and singing like normal Trolls on a night of friendship and fun. He looked back at Poppy, and decided to just relax in the moment and enjoy the rest of the night. No more pranks.

“Hey, Branch?”

He turned to Guy, who was munching on a smore. “Yeah?”

“What happened to Smidge?”

And Riff!” Biggie chimed in.

Barb and Branch exchanged a worried glance. “Sugar. We forgot about them.”

“You had better go let them out of the net, dude.”

Poppy shot up. “You put them in a net?!”

Branch rubbed the back of his neck while slowly backing away into the forest. “Well, we had to take  _ somebody,  _ and we figured the two of them would be able to take it more than the rest of you.”

With that, the two of them ran into the forest.

* * *

Poppy closed the scrapbook she was presenting to the Trollings, then smiled at Branch, who was leaning against the wall of the pod. Several of the Trollings also smiled, having enjoyed the story.

“Queen Poppy?” one of the little Techno Trollings asked, raising his hand. 

Poppy walked up to the little one, putting her hands on her knees. “Yes, Bolt?”

“Was anyone mad at King Branch anytime afterward for pulling the prank?”

Branch laughed and walked up next to his wife. “You know, Bolt? The only one who was mad at Barb and I after the fact was Smidge. She really didn’t appreciate being in that net for such a long time.”

The Trollings giggled just as Barb walked into the pod, knowing that storytime was over and wanting to talk to Poppy. All the Rock kids immediately lit up when they saw her, and ran over.

“Quen Barb!”

She gave each and every one of them a noogie, waving at the two Pop royals in the process. 

“Where’s King Riff?” one of them asked after getting their hair ruffled.

“Oh, he stayed back in Volcano Rock City to look after things while I came over here.”

Feeling satisfied with the answer, all of the Trollings said their goodbyes and left the pod, leaving the three rulers alone.

“So…” Barb started, strutting up to Poppy. “What was the story today?”

Poppy giggled. “Oh, just that one from a few years ago when you and Branch tried to prank all of us on Trollowen. Remember that?”

Barb groaned. “How could I forget? That was a disaster!”

“Yeah, but it was pretty fun to do,” Branch refuted, giving her a high five. “Plus, Trolloween is coming up tomorrow, so it was the perfect story. We already have our costumes.”

Yes, it was going to be a good holiday. Spooky or not, Trolloween was always going to be great for the Trolls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's all folks (me and my Loony Toons references)! I hope you enjoyed all of it! 
> 
> Also, I might have a little problem? I've watched the trailer for Trollstopia 12 times since yesterday. 12. I can't help it, I'm super excited. I know what I'm going to be doing November 19th when I get home from school!  
> But out of all the things I'm super curious about, this one takes the cake. 1:04 into the trailer. Left side of the screen. Cloud Guy has a BEARD. A FLIPPING BEARD. Is it because he has a wife and kids now? Sorry, I just find that pretty funny.
> 
> My next multi-chapter short fic is going to be a pre-movie story for Thanksgiving. I'm going to start working on that, so get excited and expect that in time for Thanksgiving! (Well, I guess not if you live in Canada, but you can still enjoy it even though everyone up there celebrated the holiday back in October). Have a great weekend!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always appreciated!


End file.
